Why is Mummy/Daddy considered posh? + Other cultural differences

[NwaNaija]

I'll break this down into 2 posts so the OP isn't too long.

1. Personally, I've noticed many times on here that people see the use of 'Mummy/Daddy' as posh. It's made me laugh because growing up, Mummy/Daddy is the general way of addressing parents in Nigeria (where I was born and raised), regardless of economic status. The pronounciation can be different though (MU-mee, mu-MEE, Mummy).

It isn't really used when speaking about your parents unless you're a child. In that case, 'mother/father' would be used.

Other terms used are Mama/Papa or Baba and other different ones from the many ethnic groups we have. Saying 'Mum/Dad' sounds quite formal and a bit strange, although it's become a bit more common (see next post) nowadays.

I'm not sure how saying mummy/daddy started though, perhaps we got it from the 'posh' colonisers? 🤷🏽‍♀️

Why is it considered posh in the UK?

Question: What are some of the words, phrases or terms used in your country/culture that you've seen used differently in other cultures?

The UK has som nay different accents and colloquialisms I don't think you can generalise.
South Wales Valleys here, very much working class, Mammy is perfectly acceptable at any age. Daddy not so much, your father becomes your old man or called by his nickname by and to others after about 12.
So it'd be quite normal to say "I'm just off to pick up Mammy and the old man from church" if you were 22 or 50.

Teen DS has been known to call me "Mawbags". Deeply attractive.
Grandma, aged 85, gets "the G meister" or "The Big G". No respect

Dd (11) and ds (8) still call us mummy and daddy unless they are talking about us with friends when they say ‘my mum’ or ‘my dad’.

I still seem to call my mum and dad mummy and daddy (Although I don’t think I did as a teenager) which I find slightly embarrassing but I can’t change it now!

Jamaican heritage here. Call parents mommy and daddy as adults and I call my best friends parents mommy and daddy too! Elders often called aunty and uncle. Church folks brother and sister with surname. I live cultural differences. I dont think they are wierd. Just different and interesting

@Crankley, I used to call my parents Mater and Pater for a joke, but it sort of stuck. They were sometimes Ma and Pa though, and sometimes called them by their names once I was an adult.

I'm from the north east and always thought mum was ridiculously posh growing up and I was actually quite insecure about it when I started middle school in an affluent area. Everyone said mum, whereas I say mam, and felt it gave me away as an imposter.

Now i call her ma, started jokingly but its stuck. My poor dad is just known by his first name so that's weird but it's just the way we do it

I love the way the Australians use the word "ordinary" in a derogatory fashion - it just really works.

@hoxtonbabe

I’m of Nigerian parentage (born here) and mummy and daddy is expected throughout my entire clan, no mum and dad as it’s too informal. I do remember my sons godmother ( white lady from Oxford, loved horses who I considered posh, lol) about 20 years ago saying ooooh aren’t you posh saying daddy, I said is it? and was looking at her like she was bonkers. It’s just what I was raised with and all I know.

My sons call mum, although my youngest calls me mummy sometimes but I don’t mind either way.

My Ghanaian parentage but born here friend who’s children are the same ages as mine call her mummy, if they dare call her “mum” they get the look.

This made me remember when a few people I know jokingly (was it?) mimicked dd when she called me 'mummy' and I now wonder if they (or others who've heard her say it) thought we're posh/trying to be posh. She's nearly 10 but has always looked older than her age - tall and everything. Never even thought it could be seen as anything else until MN. Lol.

Have we mentioned all the Moms in the Midlands?

The thing is with cultural differences they usually pronounce the words differently my aunts used to use the phrase mommy too. It was far from posh.

@dementedma

Teen DS has been known to call me "Mawbags". Deeply attractive. Grandma, aged 85, gets "the G meister" or "The Big G". No respect

Haha sorry this really made me laugh.

@Meangallery

I love the way the Australians use the word "ordinary" in a derogatory fashion - it just really works.

Ooh how do they do that? Any examples?

'Ordinary' can also be used (in Nig.) interchangeably with common or local, depending on intention.

Eg: "So you won't share ordinary/common (not a big deal/can be gotten easily) peanuts with me?'

(On its own) 'I'm just wearing ordinary (normal/casual or simple and nothing fancy) clothes'.

(When used negatively) 'You're just an ordinary/common/local gateman' (low class, poor, of little value).

@Augustseemsbetter

Have we mentioned all the Moms in the Midlands?

I’m white English/touch of Scottish and from the Midlands but Ive never heard people use ‘mom.’ Ive heard ‘mum’ and ‘mother’ equally. I wish I’d discovered ‘mawbags earlier!’

We say mom and mommy here, so mummy does sound comparatively posh. Mumsnet always thinks it's Americanised though 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

It isn't posh.

NwaNaija They refer to things as a bit ordinary - non-desirable, almost like a mop...or something similar.

It’s a London thing isn’t it? Like posh London?

I’m from Salford and I say Mam, which is extremely common.

Is Mom just the Black Country then?

Oh... reels at the news am now posh

We (Sister and I) call our father 'Daddy' (also, The Daddy, Daddybear, Grumpydad, Daddykins), the sickening vomityworthy-ness varies depending on how annoying/drunk/rude he is being at the time.

We called our mother Mummy as adults, in defiance as when we were small children she stopped us calling her Mummy (saying she hated the sound of 'mummy mummy mummy' all the time) and insisted we call her by her first name...

'Mother dear' was reserved for being particularly patronising when 'Mummy' wasn't sufficient.

Don't call her anything now of course, cos she's dead, but we refer to her as Mother or by her first name if talking about her.

Never really thought about it nor given a shit what other people call their parents, or whether it makes anyone posh.. I mean, am I posh, I have pedigree dogs, can horse ride, can ski, bake my own sourdough ... on the other hand, live in an ex council house and quite like egg and chips whilst watching re-runs of Benidorm..

Crankley

Pelleas
Mama and Papa are the poshest forms of address.

I would say Mater and Pater are the ultimate poshest forms of address but fortunately neither are used these days, grin“

Poshest person I know, currently a Rt. Hon., will be Lord, calls his Ma and Pa.

I'm Welsh, and everyone I know calls their parents mammy and daddy, regardless of their age. Would seem odd not too! Unless talking about them rather than to them if you see what I mean?

I can't remember when I switched over to mum and dad - but on the rare occasions when I get upset and need a lot of reassurance it does go back to mummy and daddy

Don't think I'm posh - though at one point my youngest did decide to call me Mamma out of nowhere (much to the hilarity of his older siblings and his dad who all had no idea where he got it from - he was about 4 (lasted about a year)

I’m in my 30s from London and have always called my dad, daddy, and I’m definitely not posh!

Black Country here and it's Mom not Mum. So frustrating that all greeting cards have Mum on the front...

@GoshHashana

My kids have always said mama/mumma it's normal in the western USA. They went to French lessons from preschool and started calling their father papa out of choice. Normal not posh Midlands